Condi`s popularity

I first saw Condoleezza Rice in a October 2006 news conference held at the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry in Seoul. She served as White House national security adviser under President George W. Bush in his first term and as secretary of state in his second. Seen from just a meter away, Rice was very attractive and emitted strong charisma at the same time. Wearing a dark gray suit and a gold blouse, she had a strong look in her eyes while expressing a stern view on North Korea.

Condi studied the piano, ballet, figure skating and French at age 3. She became a professor at Stanford University at 27. Condi was once called President Bush’s "office spouse." When Bush appointed her as secretary of state in November 2004, he said, “The secretary of state is America’s face to the world and in Dr. Rice, the world will see the strength, grace and decency of our country.” It was good until then. Certain journalists, however, sensed the president’s “personal feelings” when he kissed her on the cheek. In an unofficial gathering at the home of the Washington bureau chief of the New York Times, she was reportedly overheard saying, “As I was telling my husb…” and then quickly correcting herself, “As I was telling President Bush.”

Condi, who spend 326 days of her four-year term making overseas visits, was also popular in many other countries. She was the darling of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, whose 41-year rule ended in misery in October last year. When he met her in Tripoli in 2008, he gave her 212,225 U.S. dollars worth of gifts, including a diamond ring and necklace. In her memoir “No Higher Honor,” she recalled the meeting with the Libyan dictator, saying the music of the song “Black Flower in the White House” written for her by a Libyan composer was played at a dinner with him. She said Gaddafi “had a slightly eerie fascination with me personally.”

Condi is considered the top candidate for the running mate of the Republican Party’s presidential candidate, who will likely be Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. According to the results of a CNN poll of 473 conservative-leaning voters April 13-15, 26 percent picked her. They apparently think that she can trump the weakness of 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who was often mocked for having “no brain” in foreign policy, while taking part of the black American vote away from President Barack Obama.

Editorial Writer Ha Tae-won (triplets@donga.com)